Work Overview

When the general manager of the Australian String Quartet, Alison
Beare, and I were in discussions for this commission, she floated
the idea of migration as a theme for the work. I immediately had
an image in my mind of people trudging through snow - which I
think may have come from the film, Dr Zhivago - although I'm not
sure why that image came to me as I hadn't seen the film for over
twenty years. After much thought on the emotions around
displacement and migration, the ideas for Processions
were born.

The piece is in three continuous sections, or processions, that
run continuously after a short introduction. The first procession
is energetic and jubilant music that reflects the optimistic
instances of migration, such as the case of my maternal
grandparents. They emigrated from England after the second world
war when Australia attracted them with the chance of a new and
better life.

The second procession reflects the darker side of human
displacement. Here, there is uncertainty and perhaps numbness
that comes from separation or leaving home. There is a sense of
loss and isolation against a trudging motion that is captured in
this procession.

The whole work was written against the backdrop of two
devastating earthquakes that struck the city of Christchurch, New
Zealand, and then Japan. The third movement is a funeral
procession, in which the instruments glissando slowly downward,
representing a sigh or expression of grief.